


The picture of you

by Eli_is_a_rat



Category: Minecraft (Video Game), Video Blogging RPF
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Fluff, M/M, Slow Burn
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-01-19
Updated: 2021-02-11
Packaged: 2021-03-17 16:35:49
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 4,582
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28852176
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Eli_is_a_rat/pseuds/Eli_is_a_rat
Summary: For years now Karl has seen this guy in his dreams. He’s never talk to him or seen outside of his dreams. But when Karl goes to college he sees a familiar face taken straight out of his dreams.
Relationships: Karl Jacobs/Sapnap
Comments: 2
Kudos: 35





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Please remember that both the creators in this fic have said that they are ok with fanfics being written about this ship.

The subway jerked to a stop, I opened up my eyes to the sound of metal hinges creaking open. I watched as people flooded in through the doors until a familiar face caught my eye. My eyes followed him as he found an open seat on the opposite side of the subway car from me. I started to tap my finger against my leg as he took out his phone and brushed some hair back that had fallen in front of his face. The normal white bandanna failing to do its job. Today he wore the normal black turtleneck with a white tee adorned with a pixelated flame. It must have been a good ten minutes before the boy looked up at me. I slowly looked away trying to play off my staring as simple boredom. I spent the rest of the ride sneaking small glances at him craving to talk to him. Any time I would consider going up to him my throat would dry up. We reached a stop and the boy got off. It wasn’t my stop but my feet started moving, and I couldn’t stop them. I picked up my pace to try and catch up with him. The wind was blowing my hair out of my face as my feet stayed in motion. I reached out my arm to grab his as I had almost caught up with him. All of the sudden I lose my balance tripping over my foot. I fall to the ground with a loud thud. The boy turns around and smiles at me. 

Karl woke up and immediately started rubbing my elbow from the phantom pain he felt. Even though it was just a dream he felt silly falling in front of that boy after basically stalking him. Karl almost always sees the boy in my dreams, yet he still didn’t know his name or where his brain dreamt him up. Jacobs grumbled, grabbing his phone to check the time. It was half an hour before he was originally planning on getting up. The boy sat at the edge of the bed and unlocked his phone to check the message Chris had sent him. 

Hey Karl don’t forget about the college orientation today. 

How could I forget

Karl responded to his friend letting out a sigh as he let the phone hit the mattress. All of high school Chris and Karl talked about how they were going to travel far away for college. They dreamt of going somewhere in California and pursuing a career in film. But now it has all led up to attending a university very close to home. The two boys planned to drive up together due to Karl’s lack of a car and get situated into their shared dorm a week before classes started up.  
Karl finally stood up and started planning his outfit for the day as he stretched.


	2. The drive

After everything was packed into Chris’s car Karl hopped into the passenger's seat. He pulled the sleeves of his favorite hoodie over his hands. The hoodie was a vibrant color block with the base color being purple with a bright green spiral. “Any chance that you’ll let me play something other than high school musical?” Chris was already reaching for the aux cord currently connected to his phone. 

“You know me better than to ask that.” Karl smiled at the taller boy, and with a sigh was handed the cord. He pulled up Spotify and started playing the start of something new. 

“Could you be any more of a cliche?” Chris asks, rolling his eyes lovingly. He pulled out of the driveway to start their long drive. 

“Only if you’ll sing with me.” Karl pleaded using his big puppy dog eyes to his advantage. 

Chris lightly pushed Karl back. “I’ll tolerate your music, but I’ll never sing it.” No matter how many times He asked Chris would, without fail, reject his offer. Karl slouched into his seat crossing his arms and pouting to fake being angry at the other boy. 

Chris laughed, “don’t look now, but you’re about to miss the Gabriella lines.” It was always too much for Karl to not sing along to the part. He always wished he’d have someone to sing the Troy parts. But none of his fans were big singers, let alone were they big on high school musical. 

With a yawn Karl could tell that a better use of his time in the car would be catching up on sleep. He shifted in his seat until he found a bearable position. I don’t dance started playing and, before Karl knew it, was fading out as sleep took over. 

I feel my skin cooling down as little lights shifted behind my closed eyelids. I opened my eyes only to be blinded by the sun. I shield myself from the sun with my arm, using my other hand to help me sit upright. I look around at the beautiful meadow around me. I was alone except for a cow who ate some grass that was shaded by a tree. I started wandering the fields around me trying to find anyone, or maybe a particular someone. The meadow seemed endless as I ran to escape it. I didn’t stop running until I heard a moo behind me. I turn around to check why the cow was mooing. 

Karl jolted up from his seat with a sharp inhale. “Karl, you ok dude?” Chris asked, tearing his attention from the road. As Karl met his eyes he could see the concern building in his friends eyes. 

“Yeah, just a bit startled from a dream…” Karl struggled to find the words as the dream was already escaping his memory. “The boy wasn’t there.”

“Oh, you’re really attached to that guy.” Karl had told Chris about the boy ever since he started appearing in his dreams. Karl hid much of his infatuation of the boy from his long time friend. But that didn’t mean he was lacking information about this dream boy. 

“Well we should be at the school in ten to fifteen minutes, so that can help put it out of your mind.” Chris placed a hand on Karl’s shoulder to help console him. Karl took a deep breath running a hand through his hair to ready himself for the new school year.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> My hopes out to get a chapter out everyday or every other day, but we’ll see how that goes.


	3. A familiar face

As Karl stepped out of the car his stomach turned, not yet ready to face the large crowd that orientation assured. Karl walked over to Chris, immediately clinging to his side. 

Chris grabbed Karl’s hand, “hey, you’re going to be fine.” His voice was soft but his eyes were serious. Karl could feel his nerves calming from his best friend's reassurance. He took a deep breath and they started walking. 

Chris and Karl gathered all their stuff, and figure the next course of action should be heading to their shared dorm before exploring the campus. The two had paid extra to share a room instead of being paired with a random person. Chris had been the one to suggest it knowing how nervous Karl could be around new people. 

The school's housing building was in sight when someone caught Karl’s eye. Two boys walked together but only one mattered. The hair and that chain around the boy's neck was all too familiar to Karl. Just as the two passed by each other Karl whipped around, catching the boy’s arm before he could disappear. 

As the boy turned to see who had grabbed him gray eyes met brown. Those eyes were unmistakable and immediately Karl knew exactly who he was. “Do I know you?” Karl asked, his throat dry. 

“I’ve lived in Texas my whole life, so I don’t think so.” The brown eyed boy replied. Karl couldn’t read the boy’s eyes. Karl felt his chest tighten, threatening to suffocate him. 

He looked away biting his lip. Letting go of the other’s arm as he said, “oh, I thought you were someone else.” To top it all off his voice cracked. Karl looked around him to see a bunch of students staring.

He speeded his way over to Chris grabbing his hand pulling him towards the building. Karl focused on nothing more than fighting back the tears that pricked the corners of his eyes.

It was only when the two reached an area with no other people that Chris spoke up. “What was that?” Concern and confusion coated the question. 

“That was him,” Karl’s voice shook from the embarrassment he felt. “The boy from my dreams…”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> From heat on out I’m hoping to have longer chapters, but I mostly just go with where an end feels natural.


	4. Him

“Are you sure that it’s the same guy?” Chris asked, opening the door to their dorm. He stepped to the side letting Karl enter first. 

“Yes,” Karl stared at his shoes letting his eyebrows knit together. “I’d recognize those eyes anywhere.” To Karl it didn’t matter how common brown eyes were, there was something special about the dream boy’s eyes. 

“It just doesn’t make sense.” Chris plaused for a minute thinking of the best way to word his thoughts. “It’s just, if you’ve never met this guy how are you dreaming of him?” 

Karl felt strange and didn’t know how to word his emotions. He flopped onto a bed, covering his face with his hands. “I don’t know, it’s all just confusing.” Karl groaned at the taller boy. 

Chris sat down on the bed next to Karl. “Maybe you should try talking to him again.” Karl jolted upright at the words tensing up. 

“After embarrassing myself in front of him like that?” Karl felt his checks heating up as he remembered the ordeal “No way” 

Chris turned to look Karl in the eyes, but the shorter of the two was too busy staring at the carpet to notice. “But what if he’s your soulmate?”

Chris was promptly hit with a pillow at his suggestion. “You know I’m straight!” Karl complained, turning his back to his friend. 

“Hey, soulmates can be platonic.” Chris pointed out. With a sigh Karl turned himself so he could easily rest his head on Chris’s shoulder. 

“I’ve messed up any chance I had of possibly getting to know that guy.” Karl closed his eyes not wanting to believe the truth himself. 

The two boys spent a while getting settled into their room. When they were finally all set up Karl spoke up. “I wanted to go check out the library and get a book, will you come with me?” 

“I kind of still need to get this one assignment done so I think I’ll stay behind.” Chris responded shuffling some things around on his desk. 

Karl groaned, shuffling over to his friend. “Are you really gonna make me go alone!” He rested his chin on the other’s shoulder making puppy dog eyes. 

Chris ruffled Karl’s hair not bothering to look at him. “It’ll be good practice for you.” With another sigh Karl made his way to the door. 

“I hate you.” Karl mumbled sliding on his shoes. 

Chris merely chuckled knowing the boy’s words meant nothing. “I love you too.” With that Karl left the dorm and was on his way to try and find the library. 

Without too much trouble Karl managed to find the library. Every student Karl saw made him feel more and more self conscious. As if they were all staring at him, just waiting for him to mess up like he did earlier. 

Once Karl had entered the building he looked intently for the fiction section until he found it and started scanning the shelves for a book that caught his eye. The familiar cover of the bridge to terabithia had caught his eye when a voice made him jump. 

“Hey, it's you again!” Karl turned on his heels, eyes widening as he saw who the voice was coming from. “Sorry didn’t mean to scare you.” The boy from his dreams chuckled putting on a smile. 

Karl could feel his checks heating up, not knowing what to say. Finally he managed to squeak out a, “hi.” Karl cringed at how weak his voice sounded. 

“Oh!” The boy seemed to get excited as he remembered something. “I’m Sapnap!” He held out a hand and with only a bit of hesitation Karl shook his hand. 

“I’m Karl.” He worked hard to keep his voice steady letting go of the other’s hand. “If you don’t know me then why are you talking to me now?” 

Sapnap looked up thinking about the boy’s question. “Maybe I wanna be able to say that I know you.” Karl could feel his face heat up and suddenly his sweater was all too hot. “No one has ever confused me for someone else in the way that you did.” Karl considered asking the boy what he meant by that but decided against it. 

The boy in front of Karl seemed to suddenly get distracted. “Is that The Perks of Being a Wallflower?” His face lit up as he pointed to one of the books out on display. 

“It looks like it.” Karl said grabbing it and reading the cover and then looking back at the slightly shorter boy. 

“That’s one of my favorite books!” Karl could immediately tell that this was something the other was very passionate about. 

“You don’t look like the type of guy that would like reading.” Karl smiled at the other hoping he wouldn’t take it as a bad thing. 

“Isn’t that why they say don’t judge a book by it’s cover?” Sapnap said, making a purposely terrible joke. The joke managed to get a laugh out of Karl from just how bad it was. 

Sapnap’s phone buzzed. He bit his lip as he checked it. “Hey, I gotta go but it was nice getting to actually meet you!” The boy ran towards the building exit making Karl laugh as he did awkward finger guns instead of a wave goodbye. 

Karl looked at the book that was still in his hand. The mostly blank cover alone would have never gotten him to read it. Without reading the synopsis Karl walked over to check out the book.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And they finally properly meet!!!


	5. A book

“Chris!” The energetic boy yelled bursting into the room causing the other to jump. Chris turned in his chair to face Karl, a confused look across his face. 

“What?” Chris’s tone was filled with a mixture of curiosity and concern. Karl practically bounced over to him, a wide smile danced at his lips. 

“I saw him again and we actually talked!” Karl giggled with excitement. He was acting like a teenage girl with a crush. Chris might have considered mocking him for it, but how could he when his friend was so genuinely happy. 

“The guy from your dreams?” Chris asked, taking Karl by the shoulders to try and stop some of his shaking. 

“Yep!” Karl moved to sit on Chris’s bed. “His name is Sapnap.” Karl looked up to the ceiling letting thoughts of the boy fill his head. 

“I thought you went to the library to find a book, not love.” Chris teased the smaller boy. Much like last time he tried to insinuate romantic feelings between Karl and his dream boy something was thrown at Chris. 

Chris managed to catch the small hardcover book that was tossed his way. “I did get a book.” Karl pouted overacting his anger. 

Chris turns the book over scanning the synopsis on the back. “This isn’t the type of book you’d normally go for.” Chris tossed the novel back to Karl who missed the catch. 

Karl bent over picking up the book. “How so?” He asked not knowing anything about the book himself. 

“It’s a romance.” Chris chuckled “were you so flustered by the boy that you just chose the first book you saw?” 

Karl looked down at the book in his hands. In a hushed tone Karl spoke as his features softened. “Sapnap said he really liked this book.” A pink color now dusted his cheeks. 

Chris thought about mocking Karl again but deciding against it after it hit him just how embarrassed his friend was over this.

“You wanna head up to eat before it gets too crowded?” Chris asked after he realized it was starting to get late and his friend needed a distraction. Karl simply nodded.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Listen I have a very strong love for the perks of being a wallflower so I may mention it a few times. I highly recommend the book and or the movie to everyone. Since the both manage to just be so amazing.


	6. The Diner

Karl and Chris messed around playing video games, until Chris got tired. Karl considered going to sleep as well until the green cover caught his eye again. Karl picked up the book leaning back on his bed. Karl opened up the book and read the first words “Dear friend”. Immediately he started to regret his decisions, realizing the book was written as if it were letters to a friend. The idea of the writing style interested the boy but he had yet to read a book that executed it properly. After the first page the effect of the story being told as a letter disappeared. The book started off very heavy talking about the main character, Charlie’s, experiences from right after his best friends suicide. Karl’s stomach twisted and his head felt cloudy as the heavy topics only continued now dipping into Charlie’s aunt's difficult life. The chapter ended so contrastingly from the contents of the chapter, explaining how Charlie was starting school the next day. Karl read the date serving as a separation of chapters and decided to close the book for his own sake. With how heavy the book started Karl wasn’t sure if he was the right person to read this kind of book. Slowly Karl's eyes began to grow heavy, as sleep through the veil over him. 

I was standing in the field again. The grass tickled my feet reminding me of the lack of shoes. I heard a moo but I was scared to turn around. The mooing became more frequent and frantic, alerting me more and more until the anxiety brewing inside me was too much to bear. I whipped a round and saw a huge fire that only grew in size, met my eyes. Smoke burned my nose and eyes. I turned around to run away from the fire. I kept running and running until I heard a scream. The sound made me freeze for a minute. I took a breath and turned to run towards the fire. I wasn’t sure if the scream I heard was real or just my ears playing tricks on me. The cows moos continued to grow louder the closer I got.

Karl opened his eyes, only to be blinded by the light pouring into the room. He pushed himself to the edge of the bed rubbing the sleep out of his eyes. “And he finally wakes,” Chris laughed at his friend. 

Karl’s only response was a small hmph and a yawn. After a few moments Karl was finally awake enough to see the other boy. “It’s not that late,” Karl protested. Chris turned his swivel chair and grabbed his phone before turning back to Karl.

He flashed the home screen at the shorter boy so he could see the time. “Karl, it’s already half past eleven.” Karl always preferred to sleep in since he wasn’t a morning person. 

“I’m surprised you didn’t wake me up.” Karl joked knowing his friend's hatred for his habit. Chris laughed turning back around to his work.

“I assumed you stayed up till four in the morning again and I thought you needed the sleep before classes started up.” Karl groned at the thought of having to attend an eight o clock class. 

“I didn’t stay up that late...” Karl’s voice trailed off. He got up to find something to wear. Karl opened the dresser drawer and fished around until he found the cream knit sweater with multicolored yarn spread throughout it. He grabbed some brown pants to go with it. 

“Oh, and how late was that?” Chris asked, putting a textbook back into place. His back still turned towards Karl. 

“Only till one!” Karl got defensive. Chris let out a sigh knowing that for Karl that was good. Chris got up from his chair and moved over to the doorway where a pair of shoes laid. 

“I gotta run by the library to get a book for one of my classes, when I get back do you wanna check out that diner we passed on our way up?” Chris asked, sliding his feet into his shoes. 

“Sure,” Karl replied, tossing Chris his wallet, knowing Chris stored his school ID in it. Chris caught the wallet and saluted Karl goodbye, as he walked out the door. 

Karl looked back at the outfit and thought for a minute if he should choose something else. His mind started to wonder, thinking about what Sapnap would have thought if he saw him in the outfit. Karl started to get confused wondering why it would have mattered what Sapnap thought of his clothes. The chances of them bumping into each other today was slim. There was a good chance they’d never see each other again. For some reason it hurt the boy to think about never meeting him again. 

Karl shook the thoughts out of his head and slipped on the sweater and pants. He picked out a pair of shoes and then decided to lay on the floor scrolling through instagram until Chris got back. 

“I can’t leave you alone can I?” Chris chuckled smiling down at Karl. Karl moved his phone from above his eyes so he could see his friend. Once Karl saw his hazel eyes he smiled. 

Chris offered Karl a hand so he could help him up. “Of course you can’t.” Karl laughed as he was pulled up. 

The two boys arrived at the mostly small, mostly empty diner and were led to a seat in the back of the diner. A short girl came up to the two of them to take their order. She had blonde hair that reached just past her shoulders. “Hello, I’m Niki. I'll be your waitress for today.” Her voice was soft and calming making Karl smile. She placed down a menu in front of each of the boys with a smile. “Can I get you two started with any drinks?”

The two friends both ordered an ice tea and then read over the menus. Once Niki came back they placed their food orders and discussed whatever topics came to their mind. Not too long after the boys had gotten their food a large group was seated at the booth behind them.  
Karl paid no mind to them since his back was facing them until he caught a bit of what they were saying.

“Where are the two new guys?” one guy asked, sounding frustrated. Karl knew better then to eavesdrop, but for some reason he couldn’t pull himself away from their conversation.

“Well I guess one of Sapnap’s packages got lost and Clay’s helping him figure it out.” another guy answered. Karl was really intrigued at the mention of his dream boy. 

“That’s just great,” the first guy spoke up again. “Half the reason we’re even having this team meeting is so they can meet everyone.” He was practically growling by the end of his sentence.

“Calm down Schlatt.” a third person chimed in. Karl was brought back to the boy in front of him, when he felt a tapping on his shoulder. 

“You ok?” Chris asked, a concerned and puzzled look forming on his face.

“Yeah, sorry just spaced out there.” Karl shook his head to clear his thoughts before returning back to his meal.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I swear the chapters will get more interesting once the classes start up.


	7. The tree

Karl managed to find a nice little place to read hidden away by a large tree. He sat with his back to the tree enjoying the time away from people. Karl was using the opportunity to read more of the book Sapnap seemed to like so much. He closed his eyes and took in a deep breath wanting to relieve some of the stress he felt. 

“Cute sweater,” Karl jumped at the unexpected noise. He hid his face into the frog hoodie he wore to try and hide his embarrassment from the person. The sound of laughter filled the air as Kalr felt his heart soar from the beautiful sound. He looked up to see the all too familiar ravenette. The blush on Karl’s face grew as he watched the joy on the boy's face. 

Karl noticed the Sapnap was wearing the flame shirt he always had in his dreams. “I like your shirt.” Karl said shy but still genuine. Sapnap sat down next to the gray eyed boy who sat with his legs crossed. Sapnap sat with one leg outstretched and the other close to him. 

Sapnap’s eyes examined Karl, eventually landing on the boy's hands that still held the book. Karl watched as a smile appeared on the boy’s face. His lips appeared plush and light pink in the sun. “You got the book.” He pointed to where the book lay. 

“Yeah, I uh,” Karl looked away trying to hide his reddening cheeks. “I thought if you liked it so much I might as well give it a try.” He fidgeted with his hoodie sleeve trying to calm his nerves. 

“What do you think so far?” The smile could practically be heard though just his tone alone. Something was begging Karl to look at Sapnap, so he could memorize every little detail of his smile. 

Karl gave into the urge, a small smile tugging at his lips. “It seems good,” the smile fell from Karl’s lips. “It’s very heavy though.” 

“Yeah,” sapnap shifted in his spot a bit, moving his head to stare forwards. “I guess reading about that kind of thing can make you feel less alone.” His voice seemed sad and his face went serious. 

Karl was already missing the smile but found an appreciation for even that face. “I usually prefer going for fun fantasy books as an escape.” Karl watched the boy turn his head back to him. 

“Oh really?” A sly smile took over sapnap’s features. He leaned in closer to Karl, making the other flustered. “Since you’re reading my favorite book it’s only fair I read yours.” 

For a minute every book Karl had ever read left his mind. In a panic he blurts out the name of the textbook he needs for his math class. Karl hides his face in his hands as the boy next to him burst into laughter. 

“Sounds thrilling.” Sapnap teased, lightly bumping Karl’s arm. 

Karl let out a groan. “Shut up you nimrod.” The ravenette chuckled as the light hearted smile took over again. 

“Who the hell says Nimrod.” Sapnap asked, finding this whole situation all too hilarious. Karl moved his hands off of his face crossing them around his chest. 

“People who aren’t Nimrods use the word.” Karl jokingly mocked, sticking his tongue out playfully at the other. The two laughed much longer and harder then they should of at the stupid joke. 

“Well I have to get going.” There was a hint of sadness in sapnap’s voice. He pushed himself up from his spot. “Do you think I’ll see you again?” 

“I mean we do keep bumping into each other.” Karl joked all while hoping he’d get to see the dream boy again, and soon for that matter. 

A smile different from all the earlier ones took its place on Sapnap’s lips as he spoke, looking straight ahead instead of at Karl. “Someone once told me if you’re meant to know someone, you’ll keep on seeing them until it works out.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Writing this chapter was fun and just all around made me soft. :)

**Author's Note:**

> Just a short chapter so I can finally motivate myself to get this fic written


End file.
